The town that's found a potent cure for illness – community

In the town of Leupp, a Navajo community, the school and community members are working to educate kids to drink water rather than sugary drinks and sodas. Part of their effort includes increasing availability to water—and gently keeping each other on the right path.

Ukraine’s Monobank gives the best interest rates to savings account holders who walk 10,000 steps a day. Ukraine has the second highest death rate from heart disease in the world, but savers who exercise can see health and economic benefit. So far the bank is offering the rates to 1,500 people and is working to expand to the United Kingdom.

Patients suffering from chronic illnesses can often be overwhelmed with their care routines and doctors typically only have limited time to monitor them. A small robot is changing this narrative, however, by providing personalized health monitoring.

Societal and environmental changes over the years have impacted the likelihood of women being diagnosed with breast cancer, but preventative measures may help mitigate that. From risk-reducing medications for those who are at higher-risk due to family history to a focus on prioritizing exercise, there are a number of measures that are showing promise at reducing the diagnosis.

P.ink, or Personal Ink, is a non-profit that curates a Pinterest page where women considering mastectomy tattoos can browse designs, find bios of vetted tattoo artists, and get help connecting with local artists. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the group hosts a mastectomy tattooing event called P.ink Day, where they also raise money to help survivors around the country pay for mastectomy tattoos. Using their mobile app, women can “try on” tattoos by overlaying the image onto a photograph or ordering a temporary tattoo of the image. For some women, covering scars with artwork helps emotional healing.

The Children Living With Cancer Foundation organizes dance parties for children with cancer, to provide them with a sense of joy, encouragement, and community during times of need. The nonprofit also organizes community events and donations and works with local pharmacies to get patients the medicines they need at subsidized rates. So far, the Foundation has supported 300 childhood cancer patients and their families.

Through the use of video storytelling classes, two graduate students developed a pilot project that is helping to "teach medical caregiving skills to families of cardiac patients" in India. The project proved so helpful during the initial stages that a local hospital adopted the training program and it is now being implemented across other regions as well.

Why do poorer countries like Russia have much lower rates of autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes? Preventing autoimmune disorders may require emulating aspects of that “dirtier” world: safely bottling the kinds of microbes that protect the Russian kids, so we can give them to everyone and guide the “postmodern” immune system along a healthier path of development.

Diabetics require fresh food and produce to maintain their health, but doing so has become difficult during the pandemic, especially for people who are immunocomprised and therefore unable to frequently venture out to food banks. One food bank found a solution which involves bringing out food packages to cars so diabetics do not have to expose themselves to potential germs. This vulnerable population relies on their bi-weekly haul of fresh produce to stay healthy.

The Bridge app helps reduce delays in accessing breast cancer diagnosis and improves health outcomes for women in rural areas. The app provides health workers with information on symptoms to look out for and how to perform exams in hopes to promote early breast cancer detection.